Research Critiques and PICOT Statement Final Draft
Research Critique Guidelines – Part II
Student’s name
Instructor
Course
Date
QUANTITATIVE STUDIES
Background
A six months exclusive breastfeeding is what World Health Organization other studies do recommend (Khanal et al., 2015). But, achieving this goal is hindered by different factors. It is within the protocols of healthcare services that exclusive breastfeeding is highlighted and deemed essential to both the mother and the child. Nowadays, healthcare providers are advocating people in taking self-responsibility to promote healthy living (Vural & Vural, 2017). This implies breastfeeding should a theme of concern to mothers before and after they give birth. Therefore, providing antenatal education about breastfeeding not improve the health of the mother but also perceived as one’s exercising self-care responsibilities (Khanal et al., 2015). As aforementioned, reaching the peak where breastfeeding mothers get the information they deserve, some psychological factors affect the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Additionally, mother’s awareness about breastfeeding is affected by the healthcare setting, community, support they receive, as well as education which is the primary causal factor of unsuccessful breastfeeding initiation. Breastfeeding is viewed by most research agencies and organizations as the preferred method due to the qualities contained in human milk that not only promote growth toa child but also able to prevent diseases (Khanal et al., 2015). Eczema, necrotizing enterocolitis, otitis media, and gastroenteritis are some of the known infants’ illness that (Vural & Vural, 2017) says retard growth and increase the cost of care when children become ill and get admitted to hospitals.
The PICOT question that this paper seeks to answer is, “For pregnant women, does breastfeeding education during pregnancy increase breastfeeding rates after delivery compared to no education?" I selected two quantitative studies that I will critique to examine the importance of prenatal breastfeeding education. The first article used is by Khanal et al. (2015) “Postpartum breastfeeding promotion and duration of exclusive breastfeeding in western Nepal,” and the second one is by Vural & Vural, (2017) about “The effect of prenatal and postnatal education on exclusive breastfeeding rates.”
How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?
These two articles show that breastfeeding is an important health practice that boosts an infant’s immunity which helps prevent disease and decrease costs. The primary goal of these two studies is to identify the knowledge deficit gap that breastfeeding mothers face during antenatal care. Lack of antenatal education has been proven to cause a decline of first-time mothers who wish to breastfeed. Breastfeeding mothers require support through the provision of accurate information from a healthcare staff in their antenatal journey of care. This way, the success or failure of breastfeeding is determined by the type of support and education provided. Therefore, the provision of quality healthcare is assured when providers incorporate this evidence-based practice. This approach is affordable and effective since it is supported by evidence. Khanal et al. (2015) for instance designed an educational blueprint program that ensures all healthcare facilities can plan, adjust, or even assess their prenatal education practices. My PICOT is successfully answered by these two articles because they have proven that, initiation, duration, and continuation of breastfeeding is higher to mothers who receive prenatal education than to those who don’t.
Comparing these two articles' outcomes with mine, I identified that, results obtained from these articles show that there is a higher rate of initiation, duration, and continuation of breastfeeding mothers. The training and education provided to these groups of mothers undoubtedly resulted in attained higher rates.
Method of Study:
Between January and October 2014, a community-based prospective cohort study was conducted in the Rupandehi district of Nepal by Khanal et al. (2015). A total sample of 649 mothers who have given birth was used to aid health workers collect information on breastfeeding promotion. Researchers used a multivariable Cox regression analysis to investigate the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding promotion. This method of collecting data is important in the aspect that, researchers identify a subject when there are no predictable results and associates the subject’s groups who are either exposed or unexposed with the incidence of the outcome of interest. In comparison with Vural & Vural (2017) study, a total of 240 women who attended prenatal education classes were investigated using prospective analysis. One group received both prenatal and postnatal breastfeeding education while the other group didn’t. this method allowed researchers to use a survey design that collected quantitative measurements and operational descriptions of the study participant’s behavior, attitudes, breastfeeding knowledge, and demographic data. Both article’s data collection methods were effective because of the capacity to simplify the results from a specific sample to make recommendations for mothers and because of the likelihood of greater turnround in information collection. By analyzing the conclusions each article provided, I can relate both of them faced similar limitations. First, researchers lacked random assignment to experimental and control group status. There was no concealment of group status. Another limitation was that participants were chosen from the same medical facility.
Results of Study
Khanal et al. (2015) study showed that 35% of the 649 mothers were advised on proper breastfeeding methods and the importance of prenatal breastfeeding education, while 60% were provided with more than 6 types of advice. This way, researchers were able to deduce that, there is a lower risk of exclusive breastfeeding cessation when breastfeeding promotion is provided as “breastfeeding on-demand” and “not to provide pacifier test.” The number of pieces of advice provided significantly influenced the dose-response relationship. By comparing these results with that of Vural & Vural (2017), there is a correlation of results obtained from the two groups in the study. It means, building a strong mother-baby attachment especially a short time after birth improved the development and maintenance of infant-mother attachment increasing the initiation rate of breastfeeding. The first contact between the mother and the baby brings about correct breastfeeding, proper breast attachment and the bond between mother and infant becomes strong.
Outcomes Comparison
Based on the control group results, researchers identified that breastfeeding in first-time mothers is not automatic and sometimes it is frustrating. This way, (Khanal et a., 2015) have shown that healthcare professionals should take the responsibility of providing prenatal breastfeeding education. Education programs for instance are used in western Nepal hospitals to help mothers learn the skill of breastfeeding. This supports my PICOT question that mothers who receive prenatal breastfeeding education improve initiation rates, duration, and continuation of exclusive breastfeeding as compared to mothers who don’t receive any antenatal breastfeeding education. However, Vural & Vural (2017) discovered that there is a significant variation of hospital-based antenatal breastfeeding education programs across the nation. Variations were due to lack of skills training, several participants, length of stay, and class content. Although, these findings compare with my research outcomes because I anticipated seeing how prenatal education and breastfeeding efficacy can be enhanced.
References
Khanal, V., Lee, A. H., Karkee, R., & Binns, C. W. (2015). Postpartum breastfeeding promotion and duration of exclusive breastfeeding in western Nepal. Birth, 42(4), 329-336. From: https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/30182?show=full
Vural, F., & Vural, B. (2017). The effect of prenatal and postnatal education on exclusive breastfeeding rates. Minerva pediatrica, 69(1), 22. From:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28102653/
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
2